After the festive season i think half of spain is on a diet!! I too started mine and it lasted for a day!!! Not bad for self control right??? (wink wink!!) I cant stick to a diet and running a cooking page doesnt make things easier!! Anyways this is a nice nutritious soup with a hint of spice and can be had as part of a diet or even served as an entree for dinner.  I like it even as an alternative to indian style lentils as sometimes lentils tend to be dificult to digest and can give you a tummy ache. I have used a bit of spices but it can be made without the spices also.
If you dont like green beans you can use any other vegetable or even a combination of vegetables but i think green beans are really low calorie!!!
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of green beans ( i used the frozen ones) …if using fresh cut the ends off and remove any string if there is
1 tomato
1 tiny piece of ginger
FOR THE TEMPERING:
1/2 teaspoon each of Nitu Didi cumin seeds and turmeric powder
a little chopped ginger
a little chopped green chillies and coriander leaves
a few curry leaves(if you have)
a dash of red chilli powder if you want it spicy
a teaspoon of oil ( you dont have to add oil i will also give you the option without oil)
METHOD:
in a pressure cooker or ordinary caserole pan boil the beans with the tomato and the tiny piece of ginger with about 2-3 cups of water. I say 2-3 depending on how thin you like your soup….i like mine pretty thin.
Once that is done just puree the whole thing with a hand blender or put it into a normal blender when cooled.
TEMPERING:
Heat the oil in a pot and add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for half a minute then add the ginger and then the soup and the spices and the chopped chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste, check seasoning and serve hot with a wedge of lemon.
FOR AN OIL FREE ALTERNATIVE:
just heat the pan and roast the cumin seeds for 15 seconds and then proceed in the same way!!!